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IMPORTANT: We would ask that both experienced and inexperienced forum users read the following fully before posting on BIABrewer.info

If you have never brewed a beer before but are excited to become a part of such a guild , then you should start posting in the Kit and Fresh Wort Kit Brewing section of the site. We will get you under way there.

BIABrewer.info recommends...

1. That you join a brewing forum in your region so as you can get advice from brewers, next door, and stay informed of...

Guests* and members, please feel free to use this thread for general chatting, asking and answering quick questions or when you feel as though you might be just writing utter nonsense :D

[ADMIN NOTE: Edited on 20th March 2015 to expand the range of this topic.

* Guests and Visitors , it may take a few days from the time of writing the admin note above to get this thread working for you as well.

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Pat, you are correct. My response on efficiency didn't have appropriate detail. And unfortunately not drunk, rather absolutely exhausted from a long day (and week), looked at the website briefly before going to sleep for a diversion, and thought I could give some input to Glowing Apple.

EIB - Efficiency Into Boil (my assumption is this is what he was looking for). My BIAB batches 6-12 had the following EIB #s: 94, 88, 77, 82, 88, and 91. Pulled the #s off email to LHBS expert who claimed BIAB...

Before helping others to convert a recipe they post here, please make sure you have fully read and understood this post and the others it refers to.

Every beer recipe needs to be adjusted to suit both your own brewing method as well as your equipment. For example, it will be obvious to all but the newest brewers that an extract recipe needs to be converted to a grain recipe. What is not so obvious to those entering the world of all-grain is that recipes need to be adjusted for your equipment...

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How'd we miss you shetc? :o Sorry Steve!

I'm not sure what you mean by MS's technique? When you say the grain bill balances at 17.0L, that doesn't necessarily mean you have the original recipe interpreted correctly; in fact, it's not sounding quite right to me. It's hard for me to tell without seeing the original recipe and your file.

With external recipes (non-BIABacus ones) what you are trying to do really is discover the VAW (Volume of Ambient Wort) of the original recipe. This is very...

When a new brewer wants to brew beer, they must begin with a recipe. That should be really easy right?

What about if you chose to brew the same recipe that, earned Jonathan Perman the illustrious title of Homebrewer of the Year in the 2012 AHA National Homebrew CompetitionNational Homebrew Competition. Source: American Homebrewers Association / Homebrew Recipes / Sitzung Helles.

How excited are we to get that recipe? :party: :drink: :party: :drink:. Why wouldn't you be excited?

1....

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What a great thread.
Not afraid to tell the truth

I agree that to much art is taking place in the home brew community, but then I cannot tell someone how to brew their beer.
But I have tried recipes before and was totally frustrated by the lack of information or the ponderousness of bad information in them.

I see sentences like this, pour in 2 gallons of RO water to soften your water . OK soften it to what level? and pour it into how much water?

Clear Brewing Terminology (CBT) - The Essentials
The homebrew world is currently suffering from very poor terminology. This makes things difficult for everyone. BIABrewer has spent several years developing a terminology that is natural and fast to learn. Take the time to read through the below and then use these terms as much as possible when you post either here or on other forums. If a term in this thread has an abbreviation, it is perfectly acceptable to use that abbreviation on...

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Phrase Express and Clear Brewing Terminology
Phrase Express is what is known as a text expander program. Phrase Express works for Windows and Android but similar programs exist for Apple etc.

Phrase Express has many handy features. Take the time to read them in the link above. Once you have done so, download and install Phrase Express.

Import the CBT file below into Phrase Express

Once you have installed Phrase Express, import the following file Clear Brewing Terminology courtesy of...

I'm about to brew another Amarillo Pale Ale. This will be my third attempt. I'm trying to record better and need some clarification on what I should actually record. I'm using an electric BIAB system. I am also using the mashout method as described in the commentary.

1. Mash Volume. At mashing temperature the volume of the water and grain. I think this is straight fwd.
2. Volume into boil. Since I am doing the mashout method there will be no subsequent boil. So I think this is simply the...

Right, as mentioned in my intro, not getting overly good efficiency. I've only really done 1 BIAB so far (the other AG I did was a bagless mini stove top, with even worst efficiency... lol). I came away from this knowing 2 things for certain:-

1) My boiler/mashing system is inadequate:-

30 litre SS stock pot, wrapped in about 4 layers of reflective loft insulation. Now the pot itself isn't a big problem, I should be able to get 18 litres into FV from this ok. The real problem is how I am...

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I just wanted to say, I'm still about and still brewing. Brewed my 8th BIAB yesterday, in the form of a Patersbier, and still getting excellent efficiency, allowing me to use less grain and get more beer into FV. The Patersbier I used 4k of Dingemans Pilsen malt, and got 23 litres of wort into the FV with an OG of 1.046. :peace: Using Maris Otter malt I get even better efficiency, as an example I brewed a golden ale with 3.6k of Maris Otter and 100g of Crystal malt, and got 21 litres into FV...

My last brew Amarillo Pale Ale (2nd BiAB attempt). Had a specific gravity reading of 1.04 (low). Although I didn't record the volume in the end of boil I think my predicted evaporation rate was much less then predicted (that is....I ended up with more volume). For my next brew I'm going to record everything much better and I have already recalibrated my brewing pot WRT to volumes. In retrospect I wish I had recorded better :(

If I'm right about evaporation rate and it wasn't something else....

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Ninkas1 , as streamer mentioned, don't hesitate to supply as much detail as you can including your BIABacus file. (Just had a glance at your prior posts and I think you did use the BIABacus).

If you post more detail, we can soon see if you are worrying about nothing or faster identify any major problem.

For example, you might be worried that your original gravity was 1.040 instead of say 1.045. The beer will be fine. However, if it was meant to be 1.060, then we need to make a solid plan...

Getting ready for my second BIAB all grain beer. Its been over a year since my last very successful attempt using the Amarillo recipe recommended here for noobs. My friend grew cascade hops ithis summer and then desiccated them... I have a few bags full.

The question is how would I prepare them and could I use them to add as aroma hops in the amarillo recipe?

Thanks...If more information needed let me know.

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Just an update. I ended up substituting based on equivalents weights...because I didn't bother to learn the AA conversion. Anyway it worked out fine...albeit a bit more mellow then I would have hoped.

Hi, I know there is a recipe section, but I am looking for yummy recipes for women (aka SWMBO). Something sweet and yummy, something like I dont know desert? I know this might not be in the right section, but other then the question above, how many of you other guys have been sent on the same quest? hahahah :lol: I am biab all the way with decent skills and gear.

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Not I no, I was replying to the thread with a suggestion. I'm lucky, I know exactly what beer my wife likes, that been most of them! :thumbs: I will however be tackling an attempt to clone Holdens Golden Glow for her soon, as this is one of her favourites. Handy as we live in the same region as the brewery, so shouldn't need to play with the water much....

I have managed to knock out my first BIAB after building a 50 litre E-Keggle with 2x 2200w elements from Kmart kettles. I made the All Amarillo APA which I'm about to keg and initial tastes are very promising.

I am keen to brew some more and I am thinking a Dr Smurto's Golden Ale would be great as I have made the kit version with great results. I am wondering how I use the BIABacus for this system and recipe. I am ordering my grain from and Australian local supplier who has the...

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Hello AusieBrew,

Have you taken a stab at filling out the BIABacus file yet? Why don’t you give it a shot, and then paste it on your thread. One of us will be along to give you advice.

One thing I’m looking for and not seeing in your file is the batch size...

Using the BIABacus file on the first page -down the left side of the screen- for both Malt and hops you put recipe on the left side and then it displays what you will use on the right side of the page... Take a look and see what I...

Imagine you just heard that your sister/brother had just bought a good or service that you had already bought and that good/service had failed you. In hindsight, you'll be thinking, I wish I had told them of my experience, and your sibling will be saying, I wish I'd asked their advice.

Once the transaction is made though, it's all a bit too late, isn't it?

So, before you buy anything, use this thread to check with other family members - ask them, Am I making a good decision?

Cheers,
Pat

*...

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Crackers..... 30 ltr pot will not work. 50 ltr is better. If you can possibly go larger it would be better. But minimal 50 ltr.

I just posted in the I`m thinking of buying a thread about kettle size. The pot I`m going to buy is 50l and wont fit in my sink for cooling
and one of the replies got me thinking.

I've been reading that some brewers just put a sanitized towel on their kettle and a lid and let it sit overnight to cool to pitching temperature

What about just using my fermenter as a no chill cube? it`s fairly well sealed, just chuck the hot wort in let it cool over night and pitch.
sure the head space will...

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Clackers - also see the Chilling section of the Forum. It includes the thread mentioned by Streamer and has even more info.
There are some who avoid putting hot liquids in plastic of any kind and there are those who do it all the time. It's your choice.

I have clipped a sanitized cloth across the top of the kettle after Flame Out. Then i let it cool to a point where I could safely move it to where it could sit overnight and cool down to pitching temperature. I did not use the lid on top of the...

So I'm a newer brewer with some extract brews and two biab brews under my belt and I want to brew a Pilsner. This time of year the garage is perfect for cold fermentation at a pretty stable 50 degrees. I'm pretty confident on brewing and fermenting the beer, but I have questions on the lagering phase. I don't have a fridge big enough to house a secondary for lagering, so I was planning on priming and bottling before lagering. My question is how long should I wait before moving the beer to the...

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Sounds good I would like to check out your recipe. I've been wanting to brew an Oktoberfest too.

Just finished scaling a recipe for my pilsner that I got from byo.com.

Over the past week I've been messing around with the BIAB Calculator (great tool btw) and now want to put in to the test for my first BIAB batch. Based on the suggestions on this forum, i've decided to use the NRB's All Amarillo APA as my test batch, and want to use the calculator to help get me the best final product as I can possibly get.

I just want to make sure im using the calculator properly!

The Volumes Tab

So right off the bat, id like to...

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Hello Alex,

Good job filling out the BIABacus tool!!! At first glance it can seem intimidating, but if you take it step by step it is really very logical and very easy. Just remember - One Step At A Time!

I opened up your file and had a look. Provided all of your inputs are correct, the file should be good to go. Where I remember the first couple times that I used the BIABacus, and really just used the first page... It was a bit confusing to use for me at first. After using it some more it...

Hello everyone been gathering all my kit and I think I am now ready for a test run.l am looking for good proven recipe that I can use needs to be 23 litres into the fermenter looking for an ipa or pale ale that's hop forward any suggestions

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Hello did my first all grain today and got 81.2% efficiency on it very happy.
I used beersmith in the end because it was easy to work out did an ipa clone of punk ipa which I like a lot hope it turns out ok thanks for the help

I’ve been using BIABacus for a while, but I’ve hit a stumbling block. This is the first recipe I’ve brewed using lactose (or any other sugars) which will get added to the boil at 15 mins.

Looking back on the forum I’ve found a very informative post from PP that said to adjust section ‘Y’ to 75% and 0% which I have done. I was hoping someone could take a quick look at my recipe to make sure it all looks okay?

I’ve also added Cocoa nibs in section ‘F’ – which will be getting added...

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Please note, i am no way a advanced or Pro brewer of any kind. But i would have thought for a stout, you would mash at a higher temp.
Personally i mashed my sweet stout at 69Deg...
:luck:

I normally mash my beers a little higher than 66°c – But with the additions of flaked oats and lactose which all add body. I wanted to air on the side of caution, so mashing a little lower than I normally would.

I`ve been very quiet over the summer, no time with a couple of 7 year olds on holiday.
Anyway my small fridge has been busy with a lager for most of the summer, what a mistake. I ran out of
beer. I`ll keep lager for winter from now on so I can turn out ale regularly.

Anyway just a quick question. I have 10l of expat lager (BCS) needing to be packaged. Anyway while searching the net for how long to lager
for I found somewhere that suggest to add extra yeast with the priming sugar to...

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Hi guys,

I`ve been very quiet over the summer, no time with a couple of 7 year olds on holiday.
Anyway my small fridge has been busy with a lager for most of the summer, what a mistake. I ran out of
beer. I`ll keep lager for winter from now on so I can turn out ale regularly.

Anyway just a quick question. I have 10l of expat lager (BCS) needing to be packaged. Anyway while searching the net for how long to lager
for I found somewhere that suggest to add extra yeast with the priming sugar to...

Hi, I just bought Beersmith and was wondering if anyone had a profile already set up that they could share. I think I have it set up correctly, but would like to confirm with someone who already has it and has used it. Thanks!

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Yeah I tried Libre and a bunch of the lines look strange. I have a copy of Windows and Office somewhere. I'll find them and install in Bootcamp. I'm going to try using the sheet for the next brew. Thanks!

Hi all! Very much a newbie here. I just completed my second all grain BIAB and had a difficult time keeping the mash temperature anywhere near the desired 153F/67C. Any pointers, or just do not worry?

- electric range
- 4 gallons in a 30L pot.
- wrapped with towels when it was off the heat
- It dropped 10 degrees over 30 minutes.

I put it back on the heat, it started to overshoot, I had to use the wort chiller to bring it down, undershot, added heat, repeat... The flippin' thing won't cool...

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For my 15 gal pot, I used Reflectix - wrapped around about 3 times and then covered with 2 heavy wool blankets. Only lost 2 degrees over 60 mins. That was in summer...in winter I'll use more blankets and probably drag it inside.

So am planning to do my first BIAB`s After the golden week holidays we have here.
I went with NRB's All Amarillo APA for my first choice. But Subbed Amarillo with cascade.

The ECB I left blank. I didn`t know what to input. See this thread.
It has the malts available to me from my online shop.
E.G pale ale malt 5-7. and I am not sure they are the same grains. The recipe calls for munich 1.
But on my site it just lists munich. So kind of going blind, with the knowledge that no matter what...

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Hi Clackers...

I have some quick answers and comments for you.

EBC Number - Remember that if you see malt color expressed in Lovibond / SRM instead, the number is half. So a malt with EBC number of 4 has an SRM number of 2. (Lovibond and SRM are about the same thing, and they are half of the EBC number). If you can, look up the malter's website and get the number there. Or get another malter's numbers...which should be similar for their similar malt (like Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, etc.). And...

Hi on my 5th all grain brew and appreciate the tools and help here.
I have a couple of questions:

1. The actual pre-pitching volumes doesnt seem to have automated connections to the rest of the spreadsheet - intuitively I would have expected actuals to override expected for the remainder of the brewing process - for example that amount is now used as the amount in the fermenter and adjustments made from that point.

actuals biab.JPG

2. Dry hop increments do not appear to scale like other...

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I can get the Dry Hop treatment but shouldn't the actual loss amount from kettle to fermenter impact the Volume at Pitching ? How is that number calculated (or how do i get that number to appear)? I'm basically looking for stepwise refinements on my way to the bottling process in terms of increasing specificity as to the number of bottles and actual efficiency numbers.

Yes, the actual loss does impact the VIF. It is subtracted from the VAW. It is not calculated, you measure it. Section U and...

Hi, have chosen this recipe to be my first as the ingredients are available at my online shop.

the original recipe is this.

5.3 kg pale malt
300g crystal
300g carapil
73g cascade pellots

14g@60min
14g@30min
28g@15

Irish moss @10mins.

Sorry I cant give credits for this recipe, I found it on the net before I found this site.
But it was a video of a couple of oldish Aussies from a brew shop I think. Looked for again but couldnt find it..

BIABacus PR1.3T - Blank Style - Blank Name - Batch...

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Thanks Robertz64,
Actually I was looking through different threads last night and found the thread about how to convert BCS recipes to BIAB.
First thing I did was go to Amazon JP. and they had it. Purchased and waiting now. Got my mash bag in the post yesterday too.
So now I need a recipe and then to order the ingredients, plan the brew day. BIAB is getting exciting.

I started BIAB last summer and have done a couple of batches that were ok. But there's one thing about BIABacus that baffles me, the What you will use
column for malt it calculates. I have attached a BIABacus recipe from Brewer's Friend that I filled in a best I could. I know that the boil time should be 90 minutes and can manipulate numbers like Auto Kettle Efficiency (to 67%) to make the weights the same but am not sure if this is right. Can anyone explain what the discrepancy in malt...

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Good question sf,

Bit short on time but this might help....

Don't try and match the weights to the recipe you are copying. Nearly all recipes you find on the net (even in magazines and books) are very poorly written. (If you read A Perfect Example of a Low Integrity Recipe you'll see that Clear Brewing Terminology is incredibly rare.) Many make no sense.

The author of the recipe you are copying will have no understanding of the different types of efficiency (not their fault, it's the fault...

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